History Shows Us That Technology Always Wins
45,000 port workers went on strike, affecting 36 ports in which analysts were estimating approximately $5 billion of damage to the US economy per day. The reason? Higher wages as well as a fight against automation for fears of future job losses.
But history shows that this is an uphill fight. Scattered throughout history are similar instances of “man-vs-machines’ and with each time, technology prevailed.
How Industrial And Factory Automation Could Have Helped?
How could we have prevented this? The answer lies in automation. Take a look at China’s fully automated port as a barometer of how automation is being integrated into modern ports around the world bringing with them a host of benefits like:
Workplace Safety - The application of industrial automation process allows robots to handle high-risk tasks while humans can perform lower-risk tasks helping to significantly reduce injuries and create a safer work environment.
Labor Shortages - Automation fill workforce gaps and prevents labor shortages. Specific to this incident, ports will not be crippled from labor strikes.
Improved Efficiencies - Standardized processes ensure smooth operations. With factory and industrial automation, there is a little to no downtime and ports are able to work round the clock, further enhancing the reliability and efficiency of port operations.
Data Collection - Many factory and industrial automation devices have data collection capabilities. Compared to a labor workforce, automated equipment allow accessible data collection through the equipment. Data in industrial automation is critical in genrating productivity improvements.
The combination of these benefits, together with this incident should lead us to rethink how we can integrate automation into our processes to help ensure continuity and as a safeguard to our operations.
Learning Points
Did the port workers achieve their goal? Financially yes, but the fight is far from over as strikes are expected to restart early next year, with a renewed focus on automation and the potential loss of jobs that will come with it. Only time will tell if this will be the first time in history that man prevails over technology.
Speak With Us
Thinking of how to intgegrate industrial and factory automation into your business? Hikari Automation Systems is a leading automation devices and components provider in Singapore that boasts a long-standing reputation in the region for over 30 years. Speak with us to find out more about our solutions and how we can help.